SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: In times of communal tensions across India, a Muslim couple, Mehboob Hasan Naikwadi and Noor Jahan, organised the wedding of their son Somashekar Pujeri with Poonam as per Hindu rituals, in the quaint town of Hukkeri, Karnataka.
Proving that love holds no barriers of caste or religion, the family, drawn from different traditions, the elderly Muslim couple conducted the wedding in harmony, inviting villagers to share in their shared celebration.
Several community leaders, including Basavaprabhu Vantamuri, participated with enthusiasm. Mehboob Hasan Naiwadi’s act is an example for society, which has been seeing an increase in communal tensions, Vantamuri said during his speech at the wedding.
The Naikwadis had adopted Somashekhar and his brother almost 20 years ago when they were left orphaned after their parents died in an untimely road accident. The children had no immediate relatives who could take care of them.
Naikwadi was a friend of Shivanand Kadayya Pujeri, the children’s father. He and his friends tried to locate relatives who could care for them, but their efforts failed. The Naikwadi couple then chose to adopt the children of their own accord. Although they already had children, they raised the two orphaned youngsters, providing them with education and all necessary care.
Somashekhar graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and is currently employed in an aviation company in Belagavi, Karnataka.
Naikwadi, now in his 70s and with few assets to his name, told reporters in Hukkeri that he is eagerly awaiting the wedding of Vasant, his other adopted son.
“I don’t think what my wife and I did is anything extraordinary. I believe everyone in this country is like family. I am happy these children grew up in my home, received an education, and found jobs on their own. I will leave this world satisfied that I have done my duty,” he said.
SOURCE : SIASAT
